Police Officer Responds to Call from Crying Child Who Says His Mother Is Missing – Story of the Day

A police officer answered a call and heard a child crying because his mother had “gone to heaven.” The officer’s response played a big role in making the boy feel better.

“Samuel, come here,” Sam’s father called to him one day. Sam hesitated, not because he feared being scolded, but because he sensed the seriousness in the air.

Sam had always been sensitive, and what he sensed from his father was a deep sadness that he didn’t want to get too close to. His father never used his full name unless he was in trouble, but Sam knew he hadn’t done anything wrong that day.

“Yes, Father,” Sam said as he finally sat next to his dad on the couch in the living room.

“Listen, my son,” his father said. “I have something to tell you, and I want you to stay calm.” Sam didn’t like the sorrowful tone of his father’s voice, but he nodded in agreement.

“Your mother won’t be coming home anymore.”

Sam was shocked by his father’s words. His mother had been taken out of the house in the early morning because she had forgotten to breathe, but he had been assured she would return.

“Never? Why?” Sam asked his father.

“Because she has flown to heaven, my son,” his father said.

To six-year-old Sam, it sounded as if his mother had simply flown into the sky, so he nodded and asked when she would be coming back. His father then broke down in tears and left the room.

Sam waited for days for his mother to return, but when she didn’t, he began to worry. After a week passed, he became sad that his beloved mother hadn’t even visited him.

He didn’t want to ask his father, because every time he tried to bring up the subject, the man would freeze and start crying. One weekend, Sam decided to take matters into his own hands.

After days of pondering, he concluded that something bad might have happened to his mother, which was why she was having trouble returning to them. So, he called the police. The call was answered by a dispatcher named John Lewis.

“Emergency services, how can I assist you?” the man asked in a calm voice.

“Hello, emergency? This is Sam, and I’m calling to tell you about my mom.”

“Why?” the voice asked. “What’s wrong with her?”

“Well, she hasn’t been home for a few days, and my dad and I are worried,” Sam replied. “He says she’s gone to heaven, but I’m afraid she got lost on the way there.”

At first, the dispatcher thought the call might be a prank and was about to hang up, but then he heard the desperation in the boy’s voice.

“How old are you?” he asked.

“I’m six. Can you help me find my mom? I’m really worried that she can’t find her way back,” Sam said.

John Lewis thought for a few seconds before responding. He knew it would be cruel to confront the boy with the truth, but he also couldn’t hang up without offering some help.

“If you want her to find her way home, why don’t you try writing her a short letter every month and sending it to her with red balloons? When she sees them, she’ll know she’s missed and will follow the trail of balloons.”

After hanging up, little Sam was thrilled that he finally had a solution. Later that day, he wrote a letter to his mother, explaining what the house looked like without her. He hoped that this would make her more eager to come home, as she hated seeing things in disarray.

Sam waited for a response, but none came. So, a month later, he wrote another letter describing how sad his father was that she hadn’t returned. But again, there was no response, even though his balloons always seemed to float up into the sky.

When he didn’t get a response to his second letter, Sam called the police again. The officer reassured him and encouraged him to keep writing letters.

After the call, the officer asked his colleagues for a favor. He also did some research on Sam’s family and reached out to the boy’s father and teachers.

A few days later, a police convoy arrived on Sam’s street. Every officer who participated was holding a single red balloon, which they handed to Sam to encourage him.

Buoyed by the balloons, Sam wrote another letter to his mother, and this time he received a response telling him how much she loved him. In reality, it was his father who wrote the letters. The man decided he would continue doing this until his son was ready to accept his mother’s death.

What can we learn from this story?
Empathy is an important trait. John Lewis could have bluntly told Sam the truth about his mother’s death, but instead, he chose to help the boy by giving him advice. The gesture helped little Sam sleep better at night, and the advice eventually helped him cope with his mother’s passing.

Children often perceive more than they express. Sam immediately sensed something was wrong when he heard his father call him on the morning his mother died. He could see how shaken his father was, even though he didn’t understand the reason. His father tried to break the bad news to him but was too distraught to do so effectively. When Sam got tired of not knowing when his mother would return, he called the police for answers.

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